


don't stop fighting

by dorkygabriel



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adam is like Keith's brother too, Adam supports Keith, Iverson is a dick, M/M, Post-Kerberos, Season 7 Spoilers, but we been knew, garrison keith, i marked it general audiences but there is some minor swearing !!!, its been so long ive Forgotten How To Tag, keith getting kicked out of the garrison
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-06-14 15:58:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15392286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dorkygabriel/pseuds/dorkygabriel
Summary: "Keith?”“Yeah?”“Don’t stop fighting for Takashi. He needs us to fight for him.”ORhow Keith won't accept 'pilot error' for an answer, how he gets kicked out of the Garrison, and how Adam is a good brother in-law





	don't stop fighting

**Author's Note:**

> im so happy to finally upload something after so long, lmao
> 
> also IM SO HAPPY WITH THE NEWS THAT SHIRO IS GAY AND HAD A FIANCE !!!! it means the absolute world to me and i already love adam so much, and adashi
> 
> and as much as ive got a load of adashi hcs rolling around in my head, i also love the idea of adam and keith being close, too, and adam supporting keith after shiro went missing. so, here's some of that!
> 
> enjoy!

The atmosphere in the Garrison was different today. Usually, the air was buzzing with the excited conversations of hopeful young astronauts, wondering what awaited them that day. It was always a very welcoming, warm atmosphere. But today, was different. Last night, the reports of the Kerberos mission failing hit the news. Everyone was shocked that golden boy of the Garrison - amazing pilot and even better instructor, Shiro, could’ve crashed, and everyone was upset to hear that all three of the crew were marked as Missing in Action. 

So it was unsurprising when an emergency assembly was called this morning. Students, in a distant sense of mourning, poured into the hall, taking their seats in almost complete silence. There was a few whispers amongst them, but it was very different to the usual morning chatter. All of the teachers came into the room, too, standing around the edges.    
  
There was one student who stood out from the rest, though. Keith Kogane. He wasn’t mourning, he didn’t even seem sad. And that caused a few side-eyed glances and murmurs between students, especially those who knew of Shiro being his mentor and practically his older brother. Ignoring them all, Keith stormed into the room and took his seat, arms crossed and a scowl on his face. Though it was different to the uninterested scowl he had most days, this time it was pure anger, with a hint of determination. One teacher, Adam, stood at the sidelines, casting unbeknownst but soft, understanding looks over to him.

When Iverson walked to the front of the room, all were silent.    
  
“As you may have seen on the news last night, the Kerberos mission failed.”   
  
That caused a quiet hum of whispers and murmurs once more, but as Iverson raised his hand, they stopped. “The three crew members, Takashi Shirogane, Samuel Holt, and Matthew Holt have all been marked as Missing in Action.”   
  
Pictures of all three appeared on a screen behind Iverson, almost as if in remembrance.    
  
“As the mission was in deep space, we believe a rescue mission will be ineffective. The mission failed due to pilot error.”   
  
The silence that fell at the end of his words was broken the second it started. A loud screech filled the room, and all eyes searched for the source. Keith. He’d pushed his chair back as he stood up, seemingly seething with anger. 

“It wasn’t pilot error!” He all but screamed. “Shiro was a good pilot, he wouldn’t have crashed.”    
  
“Mr. Kogane, sit down.” Iverson instructed, his tone giving no question in the matter.

But of course, as he always did, Keith ignored him. Instead of doing as he was asked, he started walking over. “Something else happened on that mission that caused the crash. Something  _ you’re _ not telling us.” 

A few shocked gasps could be heard through the crowds as a loud buzz of conversation started up. Adam’s eyes widened, and he couldn’t decide how to act. Part of him thought he should stop Keith, part of him wanted to see where he was going with this.

“That’s enough!” Iverson yelled, silencing the crowds once more. “We are being completely transparent about the issue.”   
  
“If that’s  _ so _ ,” Keith growled through clenched teeth. “Then  _ how _ did Shiro crash?”   
  
If he were paying any attention to the crowd, Keith would’ve seen the widened eyes at his blunt confrontation. 

“Shirogane was told not to go on that mission. He had a detrimental muscle disease, and wasn’t fit to go. He ignored our wishes and went anyway. We’re inclined to believe he had a seizure of types while flying that caused the crash.”

Keith’s eyes narrowed. “Shiro knew how to keep himself in control at all times. How dare you blame this on him?”   
  
Keith walked towards Iverson once more, who, albeit reluctantly, backed up as he did. “ _ You _ probably told him to go on the mission! You’ve never liked him, ever since he convinced the principal to let  _ me _ into the school! And now, you’re using him as a scapegoat for the Garrison’s failures!”   
  
“Kogane!” Iverson stood still this time, glaring down at him. “Stop with your conspiracies and sit down right now!”   
  
“No!” Keith countered, easily glaring back at him. “You know it’s true! You’re keeping secrets from the students, from the teachers, and from the public! Shiro did not make an error!”   
  
“He  _ did _ make an error, because he was unfit to fly and  _ stubborn.  _ Just like you.”   
  
Anger bubbled inside of Keith, so much so that he couldn’t just reply. He had to do something more. Before he even had the chance to think about it, he felt his hand curl into a fist. And then, he swung it in the air, landing on Iverson’s face.    
  
“Keith!” Came the voice of Adam, bringing students’ gazes over to him instead, as he rushed through the hall.

He ran over to the front of the room, quickly grabbing a hold of Keith’s arms, because he looked ready to keep fighting. He struggled in Adam’s grasp as other teachers rushed to the scene too, and Iverson recovered from the hit.    
  
“Get him out of here, right now.” Iverson growled. 

Adam nodded slightly, practically dragging Keith out of the room. 

“The Garrison are lying to you!” Keith managed to yell just before the doors shut behind them. 

Adam took him through the halls and into his classroom. Once the door was shut, he let go of Keith completely, who started to pace around the room, arms crossed over his chest.

“Keith..” Adam’s tone was soft. He knew he should be reprimanding him, but he couldn’t bring himself to. He was sure he was going to get a  _ lot _ of that soon anyway.

“You know I’m right, Adam!” He turned to face him, stopping his pacing.

Adam was silent, chewing his lip, a small sigh escaping him.

“They’re lying! Shiro would never crash! He’d…. He’d never leave us.” Keith’s voice softened dramatically, and all his anger left him, leaving him physically deflated.

Adam’s eyes widened slightly. Even if deep down he knew that was what caused the outburst, he never thought he’d hear Keith say it outloud. He stood up, slowly walking over, as not to startle him. He gently wrapped his arms around him, resting his chin on his head. 

As Adam hugged him, Keith’s eyes widened a little. He tried to fight against himself for a few seconds, but as valiant as his effort was, it was in vain. Tears begun falling from his eyes, all he’d been holding in since the news came out last night. The few tears quickly turned to sobs, and he hugged Adam back, closing his eyes and crying into his chest.

Adam felt something tug at his heart as he hugged Keith tighter. He’d been here since Shiro met Keith. He still remembered the night he came home, talking about the kid with the most potential, about how his school thought he had discipline issues, and how he smiled when talking about Keith stealing his car. And then the next night, excited about Keith’s talent in piloting hoverbikes. And then during summer, when Shiro found out Keith was in a big brother program and how he rushed down there without a second thought. And then the anger, when the Garrison wanted to turn him away, and how much he fought for him. The sheer happiness when Keith was finally accepted, and how closely they bonded over the years. They were basically brothers and Adam was so glad he was along for the ride, because he bonded with Keith, too.

So he understood the pain Keith was feeling. Afterall, he was feeling it too.    
  
“He  _ told me _ he’d never leave me.” Keith whispered through his sobs.

“I know, Keith.” Adam’s voice was barely above a whisper, too. “But we have to trust him. He’ll be okay. He’ll come back to us… He has to.”   
  
Adam couldn’t live with himself if his last conversation with Takashi was telling him he wouldn’t wait for him when he came back. He was angry at himself, for not saying ‘I love you’ one last time, for breaking things off in the heat of his worry. He just wanted to see him one more time, hug him, see his smile. He missed it so, so much. But in this moment, he wanted Takashi to come home if only for Keith’s sake. He’d been through too much, he didn’t deserve more pain.

As Keith’s sobs started to quiet down, Adam gently pulled away, looking down at him with a kind gaze. “I’ll make us some tea, and then I’ll go deal with Iverson.”   
  
Keith gave a small nod but avoided Adam’s gaze, sniffing, feeling a little embarrassed for breaking down like that. Adam smiled before he walked off into his small office at the back of his classroom, in which he always kept some supplies. He boiled the water and grabbed two mugs, waiting in there for the water to boil so Keith could have some time to calm down by himself.

And Keith was doing just that, wiping his eyes and actively trying to calm down his hitched breathing. But he only had a moment of peace before the door swung open, Iverson on the other side. 

“Keith Kogane, who do you think you are, pulling a stunt like that? What, you think now that Shirogane’s gone you can act how you like?”   
  
Keith, still reeling, couldn’t find the strength to defend himself. Instead, he was uncharacteristically silent.    
  
Adam’s eyes narrowed as he heard Iverson’s voice, storming out of his office. “You know exactly why he acted out.”   
  
“And you,” Iverson started. “Rushing to Keith’s aid, as usual.”    
  
“Yeah, I am,” Adam stood tall, taking a few steps towards Iverson. “Because the rest of you won’t give him a second’s thought. You’ve all written him off. Takashi and I believed in him, and we were right to do do, because he’s your best pilot.”   
  
Keith looked up at Adam with widened eyes, unbelieving but also grateful that he was standing up for him. Iverson, however, wasn’t as impressed.

“Him being an okay pilot doesn’t excuse his behavioural issues! He has no right to speak out like that, and attacking a teacher? That’s ground for expulsion. Or arrest.  _ Maybe _ even sending him back to the home.” Iverson’s gaze landed on Keith once more.   
  
“Don’t fucking talk to him like that.” Adam growled, leaving Keith shocked. He’d never seen him like this. “He’s 17 now, he doesn’t have to go back. And even if he wasn’t,  _ I’d _ take him in before I let you do that.”   
  
“You have no right to speak to your superior like that.”

“I don’t care. How do you think it will go down with your higher ups if they find out you provoked a student, insulted him, and then came to threaten him?”   
  
Iverson widened his one eye that wasn’t swollen shut, falling silent.   
  
“That’s what I thought. You will  _ not _ be arresting Keith, nor will you even think about calling his social workers. Are we clear?”   
  
Iverson glared at the two of them for a second, before grumbling something and promptly leaving the room. As soon as the door was shut, Adam’s rapid breathing slowed down as he let out a long exhale, letting his body calm down and his posture drop before he looked over at Keith, who was looking up at him with wide eyes and his mouth agape.

After a second of silence between them, Keith laughed. And Adam couldn’t help but join in.    
  
“God, he’s such a dick.” Adam commented, leaning against his desk. 

Keith smiled. He really couldn’t believe someone other than Shiro cared enough about him to so fiercely defend him. Any other teacher would’ve joined in with Iverson. Maybe.. He wasn’t as alone as he thought.   
  
“You know, that’s the first time I’ve heard you swear.”   
  
“Yeah, well, don’t get any fucking ideas.” Adam smirked, throwing him a wink.

Keith raised his hands in a joking surrender. “Alright, alright.”   
  
For a beat, he was quiet. His mood dropped a little, and he looked away from Adam, over at the door. “Do you.. Think he’ll listen? Or will he find a way to send me back?”   
  
Adam stood up and walked over, resting a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “I won’t let him. Besides, I have too much to hold against him. He can’t do anything.”   
  
Keith nodded a little.    
  
Adam sighed. “I’m.. Not sure how much I can stop them from expelling you, though.”   
  
“Yeah, I know. I kinda figured they would.”   
  
“But don’t think you not being here means I’ll forget about you. Where you choose to live is up to you, though you should know my door is always open.”   
  
“Thanks, Adam.” Keith finally looked back up at him.

“Of course. And Keith?”   
  
“Yeah?”   
  
“Don’t stop fighting for Takashi. I’ll do as much as I can here, but he needs us to fight for him.”   
  
A small smile played at Keith’s lips. Adam believed him. That was all he needed. “I won’t.”   


Adam lifted his hand off of Keith’s shoulder to ruffle his hair. “Alright, we better go and face the music.”

Keith gave him an only half serious glare when he did so, quickly brushing down his hair with his own hand as he got up. The two of them then walked out of the room, heading down the corridors towards the principal's office.

Keith was very aware of what was coming. And maybe he would’ve been angry, or upset about it. But he knew that Adam supported him, and most of all believed him, so he knew the fight for Shiro would keep going even without him here. So when he walked into the office and the yelling began, he wasn’t even paying attention. He just glanced over at Adam, giving him a small smile. They’d keep fighting for Shiro until he came back.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you liked that!!
> 
> hopefully I'll start uploading a lot more now, finishing things off and starting new things, but honestly, this was a good thing to come back with!
> 
> comments and kudos would be super appreciated! <3


End file.
